Home Staging FAQ - Sojo Design

What is Home Staging?

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Home Staging is a wonderful tool for preparing you home for sale.
The goal of staging is to create the illusion of space and make your home as appealing as possible to the highest number of potential buyers, in order to sell your property faster and for a higher price.

What makes Sojo Design different from all the other staging companies?

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With every home we always take the key factors of buyer target market and the physical environment into account. Our focus is on delivering great quality, thought-out presentation with attention to detail; for which we only use the best furniture, art and accessories. Having been in the industry for many years, what sets us apart is not only our interior styling ability, but our understanding of just how to present any property to its maximum potential.

Is staging expensive?

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When it comes to selling your home, staging is an investment rather than a cost. It is the most effective way to improve the look and feel of your property without the need for costly renovations. When compared to the other costs associated with selling a home, staging is very reasonable.

How much will it cost?

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We’re not a one-size-fits-all property styling agency and do not provide packages. Every home has different requirements and therefore lend themselves to a more tailored approach. We can provide you with a free, no-obligation quote on visiting your property, to assess requirements. Contact us to arrange a viewing time.

What is the difference between ‘Partial’ and ‘Full’ Home Staging?

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Partial home staging is where we work with your existing furniture, adding and/or substituting some pieces with our own to make the best use of the spaces. This type of staging can be useful when you plan to still live in the property while it is for sale. A full home stage is when the property is vacant and so requires everything from furniture through to art to bring out the best of the spaces.

Why do I need to Home Stage? Isn’t having an empty house better?

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Empty rooms with blank walls can make it difficult for buyers to visualise their own belongings in the space. In most home-selling situations, rooms show better with furniture as it helps to give perspective and differentiate the space. Without items in a room, often walls can actually seem closer in- making it hard to tell the rooms true size. This is especially true of marketing photographs. From an investment point of view, selling a home that is empty can give the unwanted perception that buyers can purchase the home for less-than-market value, because the seller seems desperate to sell… whereas staged homes more-often-than-not, sell for more!

Where do you get your furniture from?

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Our home staging furniture, linen and styling items are all sourced from top quality New Zealand Interior Design suppliers.

How long do I keep the staging for?

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You can keep the staging for as long as you need it. Our standard minimum hire period is for four weeks and we throw in an additional week for free at the start, to account for time required to take photographs and produce marketing materials. Beyond this period, extensions are available if required.

Do I need to have an alarm at the property?

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No, however many of the homes we work with do have alarm systems in place.

Can you stage homes with pets?

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We can, yes. However we ask that they are kept off the hired furnishings wherever possible. We provide chair covers to help with this and ask that rugs and throws are kept rolled up between open homes to best avoid any accidents.

Can you work with our own furniture?

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Yes! This is referred to as partial staging and can be useful when you are planning to still live in the property while it is for sale. To show off the home to its greatest advantage, we may suggest that some of your items are stored away and/or replaced by our own furnishings. Our additions aim to work seamlessly with your own for a cohesive look.

Do you have storage facilities for our furniture?

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No. We do not have any storage facilities, however can suggest companies that may assist.

Do I get to pick what goes in my house?

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No. All items we use are hand-selected from our warehouse for each specific job, tailored to both the style of property and your target buyer. Our expert Interior Designers select everything from the furniture, to soft furnishings and art to develop a flow of colour through the property that will appeal to the most people.

How long does a home take to install?

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This can vary depending on the size of the property, however with all hands on deck we can confidently install a full three bedroom house in around 3 hours.

Will you need to hang art?

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We consider art to be essential for bringing the best out in our home staging. We hang only to correct heights and using proper picture hooks, which will leave small holes (though nothing a new homeowner will not be prepared for!)

I love the furniture you use- can I buy it?

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Many of our home staging furnishings are for sale. If you see something you like, let us know and we will be happy to assist if possible!

What do I need to do to prepare?

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Prior to staging, we ask that the home is thoroughly cleaned and, in the case of partial staging, clear of any items of furniture our Interior Designers may have suggested removing during our initial consultation. For more information, please check out our blog on 'How to Prepare’.

If I don’t like what you’ve put in my house, can you change it?

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Everything our qualified Interior Designers pick for your property is done so for a reason, using the best resources we have to suit your home at the time of your booking. Don’t forget, staging is not meant to be personal to your own taste and style; it’s intended to attract a wider audience, so unless there really has been an obvious oversight, things will stay as they are.